May 08, (THEWILL) – The Trademark Tribunal, sitting at the Trademark headquarters in Abuja, on Thursday, has, in a ruling delivered by the Chief Registrar, Shafiu Adamu Yauri, cancelled the registration and application of ‘Domitilla’ as a trademark by Annie Njemanze, saying all the documents issued to her were issued by the commission in error.
The veteran filmmaker and the actress have engaged in a legal dispute over the rightful ownership of the brand, ‘Domitilla’ for a couple of months now.
‘Domitilla’ is the title of a movie produced in 1996 by Zeb Ejiro, which starred Njemanze, as the lead character.
The movie, which also featured other veteran actresses such as Sandra Achums, late Ada Ameh and Kate Henshaw, portrayed the life of a young woman struggling to make ends meet as a Lagos prostitute.
The sequel, ‘Domitilla 2’, was also produced and released in 1999 by Ejiro, while a remake is scheduled for release in 2023.
Years after the release of ‘Domitilla 1 and 2’, Njemanze reportedly trademarked the name ‘Domitilla and Device’, on September 16, 2020.
Rockson Igelige, counsel to Ejiro, had told the registry that the said trademark had been in use since 1996 by Ejiro in connection with films and matters, which fell under class 41 of the Register of Trademarks in Nigeria.
Igelige said that both in 1996 and 1999, the petitioner employed and paid the applicant to act in his films ‘Domitilla’ and ‘Domitilla 2’ adding that the applicant knew of the petitioner’s prior and continuous use of the name since 1996.
